New institute targets next-gen biomedical devices

6 February, 2018

Nobel Laureate Professor Steven Chu speaks at the launch of the Institute for Biomedical Materials and Devices. Photo: Matthew Duchesne

Advancing science to develop next-generation biomedical devices that meet the needs of patients and health care professionals is the bold vision of the new Institute for Biomedical Materials and Devices (IBMD) at the University of Technology Sydney.

Institute Director Professor Dayong Jin will spearhead an international effort to transform diagnostic medicine: integrating technologies to develop small, stable, inexpensive devices for disease diagnosis that are as easy-to-use as smartphones are today.

“We’ve created molecular probes and microscopes to watch the inner workings of our immune system and find one cancer cell among millions of healthy cells. We’ve developed new tools to see how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics,” Professor Jin said.

“Now is the time to take the next step, to turn these scientific discoveries into technologies and devices, to channel our research into industry and to create new job opportunities.”

Representing a large network of leading research institutes currently collaborating with IBMD researchers, three UTS distinguished visiting scholars, Nobel Laureate Professor Steven Chu, eminent Swiss chemist Professor Jean-Claude Bunzli and Korean nanobiotechnologist Dr Yung Doug Suh, spoke at the launch and highlighted the collaborative reach and interdisciplinary nature of the institute’s research.